Wrenches of innumerable types are well known in the art. One broad category of wrench is the open-end adjustable parallel jaw wrench, sometimes referred to as a "crescent" wrench. This wrench is designed to fit onto a bolt, nut or like fastener from the side, which is in marked contrast to a box-end wrench or a socket, which may only be placed onto the bolt or nut from the top. The open-end adjustable jaw wrench employs an adjustment screw (worn gear) to drive a mating rack which is formed integrally with a movable jaw. By rotating the adjustment screw, the distance between the movable jaw and a parallel stationary jaw may be selectively changed so as to snugly fit the head of the bolt or nut.
Open-end adjustable jaw wrenches have the advantage that they can easily be slipped onto or off of a bolt or nut from the side. However, they also have the disadvantage that when used in congested surroundings, the bolt or nut can only be rotated a fraction of a single turn before the wrench must be removed and repositioned for the next fractional turn. Sockets on the other hand cannot be slipped onto or off of a bolt or nut from the side, however they can be driven by a ratcheting mechanism which allows the bolt or nut to be rotated a desired number of turns without requiring the that the socket be removed and repositioned.
It is therefore readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it would be desirable to combine the ratcheting mechanism operation used to drive sockets with the easily accessible and convenient adjustment features of the open-end adjustable jaw wrench. In fact, the wrench art is replete with suggested methods of effecting this combination. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,459 illustrates a ratcheting adjustable wrench. The wrench has a worm gear and mating rack adjustable jaw positioning mechanism for placing a pair of jaws which are adjustable with respect to each other so that they may firmly grip various size nuts. A mechanism is responsive to torque applied in a first direction which cause the jaws to tighten and apply torque to a nut, and is also responsive to torque applied in a second direction which allows the jaws to separate and ratchet to a new position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,297 shows a locking ratchet wrench. The wrench has a main body with an elongated handle portion and a stationary jaw at one end. A movable jaw with ratchet teeth has its rear end slidably fitted on the main body. A locking pawl block has teeth at the forward end thereof corresponding to the movable jaw ratchet teeth and movable into and out of engagement therewith. A movable handle is pivotally mounted on the main body to move it into and out of toothed engagement with the movable jaw. U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,011 depicts a self-adjusting snap-fit ratchet wrench which has two guided jaws which move linearly against each other along a guided pin, and which are hinged to a handle by pins. The hinges on the jaw to the handle are designed with override leverage wherein the gripping force is increased as the handle is swung in forward stroke, and releases in back stroke to provide a ratcheting action. A return spring exerts force on the jaws for an automatic snapping on the work piece. A locking mechanism may be provided by a fastening means for retaining the guiding pin to hold the jaw opening to a fixed predetermined position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,450 discloses an adjustable wrench for torquing and ratcheting a symmetrical polygon member. The wrench has a body with a fixed jaw and movable jaw. The jaw faces are configured such that an area in each jaw is provided for securely engaging a member to apply torque to the member in either direction, and having an area on the outer end of each jaw such that the polygon member may be ratcheted without removing contact of the wrench from the member. U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,077 comprises a combined adjustable spanner and ratchet wrench. When turned in the working direction, the jaws have a firm grip about the work piece, and when turned in the return direction, the grip about the work piece is released so that the jaws slide thereabout. The wrench comprises a stem which passes through an opening in a tongue embraced by the legs of a fork-like end on the wrench handle, the stem connecting the fork legs and cooperating with the opening to limit the swinging movement of the wrench head and the handle reciprocally. The stem is arranged with the worm in its working position to take a stop position fixed by the edge contour of the opening by bearing on said edge contour. U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,989 constitutes a worm locking means for a slidable side jaw wrench. A latch member selectively holds and releases the slidable jaw so that the wrench is adapted to either turn a nut or move relative thereto at one setting of the wrench. The latch member is selectively engaged by a manually activated leaf spring thereby allowing the jaws to rotate over the corners of the nut resulting in a ratcheting action.